Alexey Vladimirovich Stanchinsky was born in Obolsounovo, a small town in the Governorate of Vladimir.

He began his studies early and at the age of six he was already composing. In 1899 his family moved to Logachevo, near Smolensk, where the child was exposed to folk songs, possibly the very same ones that had inspired Glinka many decades before. From 1904 Stanchinsky visited Moscow regularly, being a private pupil of Josef Lhévinne, while taking composition classes with Gretchaninov. It was the latter who introduced the boy to Taneyev. In 1907 he entered his composition classes at the Moscow Conservatoire.

The death in 1908 of Vladimir Stanchinsky, the young man’s father, was to have a profound impact on his mental health and he was confined to a lunatic asylum for a year.

Even though he was pronounced incurable, he made a comeback and by 1910 was collecting folk songs in the vicinity of Smolensk.

In 1914 he gave his only recital, which was very well received by the critics, who saw in him the makings of a great composer, a promise which was to remain unfulfilled for later in the year he was found dead near a stream at a friend’s family estate, a death that up to now remains unexplained.

Almost all his music, apart from a song cycle after poems by Robert Burns and some chamber works, was written for the piano. None of these were published during his lifetime, the fist editions dating from the 1930s.

His main influence was Skryabin, to whom he owes the use of expanded tonality, though he never quite arrived at the latter’s near atonality. He also explored modal harmonies, leaving, for example, a prelude in the Lydian mode. He wrote three piano sonatas (the earlier one in one movement), études, preludes, Mazurkas and a Nocturne, as well as a piano trio.

all right, then: I have changed the spelling of SCRIABIN, then. This is the only change and it reflects your wishes.

Alexey Stanchinsky (1888-1914)

Alexey Vladimirovich Stanchinsky was born in Obolsounovo, a small town in the Governorate of Vladimir.

He began his studies early and at the age of six he was already composing. In 1899 his family moved to Logachevo, near Smolensk, where the child was exposed to folk songs, possibly the very same ones that had inspired Glinka many decades before. From 1904 Stanchinsky visited Moscow regularly, being a private pupil of Josef Lhévinne, while taking composition classes with Gretchaninov. It was the latter who introduced the boy to Taneyev. In 1907 he entered his composition classes at the Moscow Conservatoire.

The death in 1908 of Vladimir Stanchinsky, the young man’s father, was to have a profound impact on his mental health and he was confined to a lunatic asylum for a year.

Even though he was pronounced incurable, he made a comeback and by 1910 was collecting folk songs in the vicinity of Smolensk.

In 1914 he gave his only recital, which was very well received by the critics, who saw in him the makings of a great composer, a promise which was to remain unfulfilled for later in the year he was found dead near a stream at a friend’s family estate, a death that up to now remains unexplained.

Almost all his music, apart from a song cycle after poems by Robert Burns and some chamber works, was written for the piano. None of these were published during his lifetime, the fist editions dating from the 1930s.

His main influence was Scriabin, to whom he owes the use of expanded tonality, though he never quite arrived at the latter’s near atonality. He also explored modal harmonies, leaving, for example, a prelude in the Lydian mode. He wrote three piano sonatas (the earlier one in one movement), études, preludes, Mazurkas and a Nocturne, as well as a piano trio.

Okay, here's the bio I came up with for Janacek. Thank you for your patience... I'm sorry it took me so long! Any criticism is welcome.

By the way, I had italicized the proper names of the operas, piano cycles, etc. in my Word document, but I can't seem to find an "italics" button on the reply setup. Maybe I'm missing something?

Born on July 3, 1854 in Hukvaldy, Moravia, Leoš Janáček showed musical promise very early in life. His talent first manifested itself in vocal ability; the young boy recieved his first studies in choral singing at the Abbey of St. Thomas in Brno, studying under the tutelage of Pavel Křížkovský. While there he also learned to play the piano and organ. When Janáček was 20 years old he entered the Prague organ school. Although suffering extreme poverty, Janáček managed to make the most of his studies underneath František Skuherský and František Blažek. He graduated with honors in 1875 in spite of being nearly expulsed from the school for a published criticism of one of his teacher's performances. Shortly thereafter Janáček began teaching privately and at Berno's Teachers Institute.

Though pleased with his position at the Institute, Janáček soon desired to acquire more musical training. After several months at Leipzic Conservatory Janáček transferred to Vienna Conservatory. He only stayed two months, however, due to criticism of his composition and piano performance styles. In Brno again, Janáček settled down and married one of his former students, Zdenka Schulzová, and took an appointment as director of the Brno organ school. This position enabled Janáček to begin to compose more systematically, as well as begin to become more involved in music criticism. During this period, too, the young man became fascinated with folk melodies and began to weave them into his work.

In the new century, fresh compositions continued to flow from Janáček's pen. His sacred composition Ave Maria and the popular piano cycle On an Overgrown Path were two of the works from this era of his career. Some of these works developed as a result of sorrow in Janáček's life. He and his wife had already lost a son in 1890; to compound his sorrow, in 1902 his beloved daughter Olga became seriously ill. In 1903 she died. Janáček expressed his deep grief through composing his noted opera Jenůfa.

After only one performance of Jenůfa in his hometown, Janacek was unable to stage any further performances of his opera. Grieved, exhaused, and dejected, Janáček journeyed to the Luhačovice spa to recover his strength and compositional inspiration. He eventually found his verve again and set to work on a set of notable choral, chamber, and orchestral works, as well as several operas. In this surge of productivity, Janáček received great encouragement; his opera Jenůfa was performed in Prague's National Theatre to enthusiastic audience members and critics alike. Finally, Janáček had recieved notice and acclaim.

This was also a time of new professional and personal relationships. In 1916 Janáček became associated with Max Brod, a critic, dramatist, and translator. Janáček also met a new love, singer Gabriela Horváthová. Upon hearing about the relationship, Janáček's wife Zdenka attemped suicide and "informally divorced" her husband. A year later, Janáček met a very young married woman, Kamila Stösslová, whom he passionately and obsessively loved and corresponded with until his death. The woman provided inspiration for a book and many musical works.

In 1920, Janáček retired from his teaching position at the Brno Conservatory. However, he continued to teach privately until 1925. He still kept his pen busy; in the autumn of his life, he produced some of his best works, like the Sinfonietta and Glagolitic Mass. In 1926 he traveled to England, greeted by a wam welcome and many London performances of his works, which led to more international exposure for the composer.

As Janáček neared the end of his life, he composed two last masterpieces: the operatic work The House of the Dead, and his "manifesto on love," the "Intimate Letters" string quartet. On a trip to Štramberk with Kamila and her son Otto, Janáček received a chill and fell ill with pneumonia. He breathed his last on August 12, 1928 at Ostrava. He was laid to rest in the Field of Honour at the Central Cemetery in Brno.

Janáček's musical legacy is extensive. Arguably his best works lay in the operatic medium: Jenůfa, of course, as well as Káťa Kabanová, The Cunning Little Vixen, The Makropulos Affair, and From the House of the Dead. His two string quartets are standard repertory in chamber music. The Sinfonietta, the Glagolitic Mass, and the Tara Bulba rahpsody are other well-known works of Janáček. While Janáček wrote relatively few piano works, the two books of On an Overgrown Path, the I. X. 1905 piano sonata, and the cycle In the Mists remain beloved works in the pianists' repertoire.

@Sarah - thank you very much for the Janacek bio. I will put it up onto the site later tonight. Regarding your italicized words, IIRC, only administrators have those text options and editing button up here in the Announcements forum. Don't ask me why...I will italicize the words you wanted to be italicized.

@Scott - yes, we still have some bios left, but at least now it's getting down to a respectable number of only six!

They are:

-Bowen-Lutoslawski-Martinu-Mayerl-Respighi-Warlock

_________________"Simplicity is the highest goal, achievable when you have overcome all difficulties." ~ Frederic Chopin

[quote="pianolady"]Ooooklahoma where the wind comes sweepin' down the plain...(great, now that's in my head and I'm about to go to bed. :roll: :) )

Have fun playing the show, Curly, I mean Scott. :lol: I'll be be looking for the Respighi bio soon. (fun for me, because I'm learning things from you and Sarah about certain composers)[/quote]

Good, I'm glad I put that in your head. Maybe it can drive you crazy (or crazier) like it has me. I can't get rid of "It's a Scandal" and "Many a New Day" (not necessarily my favorite songs but ones that we had to work on most with the kids).

Thank you Scott Pitmann for your entry on Camile S-S, as I have been carrying the guilt of having volunteered to provide that bio but had not done it yet (when I get a Round Tuit) and just saw that you have done it. Whew! I feel so much better. Nice write-up too.

PS: For some reason none of the chrome seems to be working right now: emoticons, font type, etc.

I see no reason why this would not work for you. Smilies and BBcode are all enabled in your profile. Could be because this particular forum was never meant for non-admins to post in (not sure why this is still possible but I can't be bothered to find out).

[quote="pianolady"][quote="RSPIll"]I'll work on Respighi after the weekend. I'm playing for our high school production of "Oklahoma!" which will be over tomorrow so after a Sunday of Valium and Jim Beam, I'll have time.

Scott[/quote]

Ahem, here also.... Scott???

In addition, there is our little rule: he who puts up a new composer, has to write the bio". Hmm...Mayerl is still in need...[size=85]guess who....[/size] :wink:

If these bios get written, that leaves only Lutoslawski and Martinu. Any takers?[/quote]

Yeah, my short term memory got shorter during that time. <That's my story and I'm sticking with it.> I'll get going with it. I did start looking for info when I say Chris' message to Richard.

The material I was using for the Vaughan Williams was (and is) rather extensive and was taking rather longer than ususal to read an digest. Add to that the computer cataclism and maybe I might have a very lame and flimsy excuse?

I shall get back to it soon, I hope. I did manage to salvage some of the material for it, though for Warlock and Bowen, I shall need to carry on new research.

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